UMD to Host Solar Eclipse Viewing Event

DULUTH, Minn. - With all the excitement leading up to the solar eclipse in just over a week, UMD announced it's hosting a viewing event on the day of the phenomenon.

Advertisement â€“ Content Continues Below

It'll be on Monday, Aug. 21 at Grandma's Sports Garden in Duluth. There will be a large geo-dome from the UMD planetarium set up in Grandma's Sports Garden, in addition to telescopes set up outside.

The eclipse will start coming into view in Duluth at 11:30 a.m., with it's peak at about 1:07 p.m. That's when about 80 percent of the sun will be covered by the moon.

A few parts of the U.S. will be completely dark. The last time an eclipse of this scale happened was in 1918.

"This is pretty rare for every state to see an eclipse. It's once in a century," said Marc Seigar, the associate dean of the UMD Swenson College. "There's an incredible amount of hype. People have been planning this for years."

Looking directly at the sun can cause blindness and retinal burns, so if you plan on watching the eclipse, you'll want a pair of eclipse glasses. They have special purpose filters in them to protect your eyes.

Ordinary sunglasses, even dark ones, are not adequate. You'll also need the special glasses if you're looking through a camera, telescope or binoculars, too.